Right Joy-Con Joystick Replacement
By Kyler Saunders • Difficulty: Moderate
Introduction

The Nintendo Switch comes with two Joy-Con controllers. This guide will show you how to replace the joystick of the right Joy-Con. The procedure for repairing the left Joy-Con is different, so be sure to follow the correct set of instructions for your controller.

Please note that this repair does not have the same steps as the left Joy-Con. If you are looking to replace the left Joystick, please follow my other guide with the specific details.

Step 1
  • Remove the four tri-point Y00 screws from the back panel of the Joy-Con.
  • These screws are each 6.2 mm long, but it's still a good idea to keep them organized and make sure they go back in their proper holes!
Open the case
  • Insert an opening pick under the lower side of the back panel (opposite the R and ZR buttons).
  • Slide the flat edge of an opening pick up the side of the Joy-Con.
  • Be careful not to slide the opening pick too far inside the Joy-Con. This may damage the inner components. The back panel has shallow interference-fit tabs on the side opposite the charging rail. These loosen fairly easily, so not much pressure is needed.
Open the case
  • Open the Joy-Con like a book, with the charging rail facing away from you.
  • Don’t try to fully remove the back panel yet. There are still two cables connecting the charging rail to the motherboard.
  • During reassembly, make sure the SL/SR cable is lightly bent under the battery compartment before clipping the two halves of the joy‑con together. Otherwise, you might crease the cable and damage it.
Disconnect the battery
  • Use a spudger to gently pry the battery connector from its socket on the motherboard. This will keep the Joy-Con from powering on during the repair.
  • Be extremely careful while you pry up the battery connector. If it does not come up easily, try gently pulling on the wires to disconnect it.
Remove the battery
  • The following two steps show the removal of the battery and the coaxial antenna cable from the midframe. These two steps make for a less cluttered repair, but are not essential. If you want, you can leave the battery and the grey coax cable in place here and proceed to step 7.
  • Insert an opening pick between the battery and the Joy-Con housing. Gently pry out the battery, which is lightly taped in place.
  • Be careful not to deform or puncture the battery—it can catch fire or explode if damaged.
Remove the antenna
  • Before you perform this step, take note of how the antenna cable and its PCB are seated for proper reassembly later.
  • Carefully de-thread the upper half of the grey antenna cable out of the battery cavity.
Disconnect the antenna
  • Pry up with the pointy end of a spudger to disconnect the antenna cable's coaxial connector from the motherboard.
  • Remove the grey antenna cable.
  • During reassembly, reconnect the antenna cable, then make sure it is routed through the battery cavity in the midframe as it was before you took it out.
Step 8
  • Remove the three 3.5 mm Phillips #00 screws on midframe.
  • Do not attempt to remove the midframe yet. There is a fragile cable that still connects the ZR button on the midframe to the motherboard underneath.
Remove the midframe
  • Carefully flip the midframe over and away from the motherboard.
  • Do your best not to stress the short ribbon cable attached to the ZR button during this step.
Disconnect the midframe
  • The ZR button cable is locked in place by a small ZIF connector on the motherboard. Use tweezers or a spudger to flip up the ZIF connector lock.
  • Use tweezers to gently pull the ZR button flex cable out of the ZIF connector socket. The midframe is now disconnected and can be removed.
  • The ZR button cable in this Joy-Con is short and can be tricky to reconnect. If you are worried about not being able to reconnect it, you can skip this step and leave it connected, which we recommend.
  • If you choose to leave the cable connected, be careful. Work slowly and do your best to keep the midframe from moving around as you perform the last few steps to avoid damaging the cable.
Disconnect the joystick
  • The joystick cable is also locked into place by a ZIF connector. Use tweezers or a spudger to flip the ZIF lock upward and carefully disconnect the cable.
Step 12
  • Remove the two 3.5 mm Phillips #00 screws from the joystick.
Remove the joystick
  • Carefully remove the joystick from its housing.
  • There is a thin black gasket around the hole where the joystick pokes through the Joy-Con. Do your best not to disturb this gasket as you remove the joystick!
  • Once the Joy-Con is fully reassembled, connect it to your Nintendo Switch and calibrate the new joystick. Additionally, you may need to power cycle your Switch by holding down the power button for 10-15 seconds until it turns off, then turning it back on.
Install the Gulikit joystick ring sticker
  • If you've replaced the joystick with a Gulikit module, follow the next two steps to install the included joystick ring sticker.
  • Use your fingers to pull the thumbstick off of the Gulikit joystick module.
Step 15
  • Peel the ring sticker from its liner.
  • If the sticker center is still attached, separate and remove it from the ring.
  • Set the ring sticker in the joystick recess and press it with your fingers for a few seconds to attach it.
Conclusion

To reassemble your device, follow the above steps in reverse order.

Take your e-waste to an R2 or e-Stewards certified recycler.

Repair didn’t go as planned? Check out our Answers community for troubleshooting help.